Mayor Bans Ugly Cars

Relentless in his campaign to beautify the Russian capital, Moscow’s mayor has ordered clunkers off the streets.

Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told police to stop any car “in technical disrepair or with blemishes” and confiscate the license plates, the ITAR-Tass news agency said Saturday.

It said at least 120,000 clunkers cruise the busy streets of Moscow every day.

The campaign against clunkers is Luzhkov’s second attempt to make even the city’s traffic less unsightly. In March, he told police to fine drivers of dirty cars.

But spring rains began the next week, and even bribe-hungry traffic cops gave up when confronted with thousands of mud-splattered cars.